


Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr's Guide on How /Not/ to Come Out as Adults

by AcesOfSpade



Series: LGBTalk [19]
Category: Marvel, X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, I don't know how to tag this rn, LGBT support group, LGBTQ Themes, Relationship Problems
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-07
Updated: 2018-09-07
Packaged: 2019-07-08 02:22:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15920944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AcesOfSpade/pseuds/AcesOfSpade
Summary: Charles Xavier is a successful geneticist with a wife and son, one who's struggling to find a way to tell his wife he isn't attracted to women like he thought he was, and struggling to come out in the workplace.Erik Lehnsherr is a married father of three that can't figure out how to come out to his wife and kids after his youngest two children came out tohim.Watch as they meet for the first time at a support group for queer adults struggling to come out, and how they bond with each other and help each other overcome their respective difficulties.





	Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr's Guide on How /Not/ to Come Out as Adults

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea where the actual fuck this came from. I was curled up trying to sleep at about 4am, when suddenly this idea came to me, so naturally I had to start writing it down before I forgot it. It's 515am as I'm posting chapter one, and who knows how long it's going to end up.
> 
> Also, just a warning, I use the word 'queer' the way most people use 'LGBT' for a variety of a combination of personal, speech, and dyslexic reasons, so read at your own comfort level with the term being thrown around a lot.

Coming to this group in the first place wasn’t an easy choice for Charles to make. He had his family and career to consider, though ultimately those were the reasons he _needed_ to come to begin with. After all, it _was_ a support group for queer adults struggling to come out in their personal and professional lives. He’d seen a flyer for it when he’d taken his son in to see his psychiatrist, discreetly taking note of the date, time, and location for later considertion. It inevitably led him here, walking into a small room at the local community centre uncertainly, taking a seat in the circle of chairs that were sparsely filled. Only a few other people had arrived so far, one of which caught Charles’ attention.

 

The man looked to be around Charles’ own age, with short, coppery-blonde hair and striking features. There was light stubble and what appeared to be grease stains on the man’s face, the latter of which not taking away from his overall attractiveness. At least, in Charles’ opinion. He was dressed like a lumber worker, in jeans, a white tank top, an unbuttoned red flannel, and hiking boots, leading Charles to assume he’d just gotten off work. Regardless, Charles found he couldn’t take his eyes off the man, who hadn’t noticed Charles yet as he was texting someone intently.

 

It wasn’t long before the co-ordinator entered the room, effectively starting the meeting when he did. He didn’t look much older than 21 or 22, with messy caramel-brown hair and matching eyes.

 

“Evening, everyone. My name is Bobby, and I run the show around here,” the man greeted. “I see a few new faces, so let’s go around the circle and introduce ourselves. Since you’re texting instead of paying attention, you get to go first Erik. You know the drill,” he reasoned, turning to the mystery man Charles had been staring at, grinning impishly. Evidently, he stopped by frequently enough to develop a friendship with the co-ordinator.

 

“It was my daughter,” Erik dead-panned in Bobby’s direction before turning to the group. “My name is Erik, as Bobby said, and I prefer masculine pronouns,” he said simply, turning to his right to cue the next person. There were five people in between Erik and Charles, all of which Charles only paid half-attention to as he continued staring at Erik. He was so lost in it that he nearly missed when it came to his turn.

 

“Oh, sorry, bit spaced out,” Charles chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. “My name’s Charles, and I use he/him pronouns,” he stated, cuing the next person. There were three others after him before everyone had gone, so it only took about another minute before Bobby was talking again.

 

“Since we’ve got more than one or two new people tonight, let’s turn this into a queer AA,” Bobby decided with a sideways smile. “We’ll once again start with Erik over here, and we’ll go around the circle telling everyone a little bit about the circumstances that brought us all here. It _is_ a support group, we’re all here for help of some kind.”

 

“Why do you enjoy that analogy so much?” Erik asked Bobby with a raised eyebrow, clearly amused at Bobby’s simple shrug. “At any rate, what brought me here is my children, in a way. A few months ago, my son came out to my wife and I as bisexual, and while I’m proud of him for doing it, I’ve been trying to figure out how to do the same since. Just a couple weeks ago, his twin sister told me she’s pansexual, which is more reason to stop being a coward.”

 

Charles didn’t register the ‘pang’ he felt in his chest when Erik mentioned a wife, though he had no reason to be jealous; he too was a married father, he couldn’t go developing feelings for a man he’d just met technically. He maanged to not stare as the next five people told their stories, which ranged from military veterans scared to tell their friends and family they were together, to a man who was out to his friends but not at work. The man immediately before Charles, who he believed was named Jamie, mentioned being in a relationship with the co-ordinator himself, though neither of their families knew that. When it came time for Charles’ turn, he straightened in his seat out of nervousness, folding his hands in his lap.

 

“I guess the main reason I came today is because I have no idea how to broach the subject of my own sexuality with my co-workers, even though human sexuality is a highly discsussed topic these days,” Charles admitted. “I’ve found it difficult to lead discussions with a room full of geneticists towards that topic, so I’ve come for help. I also don’t have a clue how to explain to my wife that I’m not attracted to women like I thought I was. My son told me to come here for help with that.”

 

“We’ll do our best to help you, Charles,” Bobby nodded before motioning for the woman next to him to go, Charles listening to her story of a troubled childhood in Russia that has had long-term effects on her ability to open up about things to people she cares about.

 

Once they’d gotten through the entire circle, Bobby clasped his hands together on top of his podium, eyes scanning the circle for a moment.

 

“Anyone have any advice for the fresh meat?” he asked the room. “We’ve got a scientist with workplace _and_ marriage issues, a polysexual ballerina who hates that she has to explain what that means to literally everyone, and a war veteran couple nervous about telling their friends they’re queer.”

 

One of the people between Charles and Erik raised his hand, a man with bright blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes.

 

“Go for it, Johnny,” Bobby nodded in his direction. “What’ve you got?”

 

“Charles, right?” Johnny started, turning to the man in question and earning a nod. “I get that the science field can be hard to tackle for someone like us. My brother-in-law is one of the biggest names in modern science, and he dragged my sister and me into it with him. You’ve just got to find the right way to do it. I managed to come out to Reed and my sister via text, even though they deserved to be told in person. They’ve been doing their best to help me come out to the company, and really the whole scientific community, so I guess we’re in the same boat.”

 

“Is your brother-in-law by any chance Dr. Reed Richards?” Charles asked curiously. “Regardless, I appreciate your sympathy. At least you managed to tell them yourself. The only person who knows about me is my son, and he figured it out on his own.”

 

“That’s him. Bit of an arrogant prick sometimes, but hey, he means well,” Johnny shrugged.

 

Another person, this time to Charles’ other side, beside the ballerina, raised their hand.

 

“Fire away, Matt,” Bobby nodded, Charles turning his line of sight towards the man who was going to speak, taking note of his red-tinted sunglasses and the folded up white cane in his lap.

 

“When it comes to talking to your wife, just be straight-forward with her,” Matt told Charles, though his eyes were looking forward blankly instead of at Charles. “If she’s a decent human being, she’ll understand. The longer you put it off, the more hurt she’ll be that you didn’t tell her sooner. Trust when I say you should do it sooner rather than later,” he added, absently rubbing his cheek as if remembering the sting of a slap.

 

“Gabrielle is an… interesting woman,” Charles noted. “I don’t know how she will react, which is the only thing holding me back from telling her. My personal and professional lives lie in her hands, to be honest. If she reacts negatively, she’ll try to undermine all the work I’ve done in genetics by attempting to discredit me. She’s done it to other men she’s been with, so I know she’s fully willing and capable of doing so.”

 

“No offense, but if you know that and you were questioning your sexuality, why’d you marry her in the first place?” Johnny piped in. “She sounds like a nightmare.”

 

“We were young and reckless, which resulted in our son David, the only reason I asked her to marry me in the first place,” Charles sighed, looking down at his lap.

 

“Tough break, buddy,” Johnny sighed, reaching across Jamie to pat Charles on the shoulder.

 

The group went back and forth like that for a solid two hours before they had to leave so the community centre could close for the night. Charles felt a little better, having attented the meeting instead of dodging it like he did anything that had to do with personal matters he disliked talking about head-on.

 

Making his way to his car, Charles took out his phone to send David a text saying he’d be home in about fifteen minutes to make sure he’d left the door unlocked when he headed out, as he’d left his house keys with David at home.


End file.
